Can Forged Cutlery Serrated Knives Be Honed?

[Intrepid_Chef]

Quick question ... can it be honed?

 

[gailz2]

No, but it is very sharp. I love it! You generally can't sharpen serrated knives.

 

[LarissaRed123]

No, but I agree that it is a wonderful knife. I love mine.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

serrated knives shouldn't ever be sharpened, whether using a honing tool, a sharpening steel, a stone, etc. No serrated knife should be sharpened ever

 

[deanna_g]

That's actually not exactly true. Serrated knives can definitely be sharpened. My husband is a knife sharpener. People hire him to sharpen their knives. He has one machine that is very precision that can be used to sharpen serrated knives. The correct statement would be "you shouldn't try to sharpen your own serrated knives." Have them professionally sharpened. (-:

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I guess I'm just concerned that people keep referring to honing as sharpening. There is a difference. This is why I asked. Just want to treat it properly. My utility knife seems "off" because it hadn't been honed for the first year or so I had it.

 

[deanna_g]

Yeah. People don't get the difference. They say "I have the knives that have the self sharpening cases that you used to sell and they're dull even though I keep them in those cases." It kills me because so many consultants sold them as "self-sharpening cases for the knives" and they are just honing cases. I have to explain the difference and then they feel ripped off. *sigh*

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

So what IS the difference then? Because I've got no idea.

 

[lt1jane]

Honing simply straightens the blade. Basically, think of taking a curved string and straighten it. You removed nothing, just re-arranged the shape.

Sharpening removes metal. Regular honing helps keep blades sharp, but eventually they need to have their edge re-ground so that it is sharp. So with sharpening, you "trim" the blade a bit.

Sharpening is usually best left to professionals. If you know someone who is good at sharpening knives, you can trust them with straight blades, but I would still send serrated blades to a professional. Trying to sharpen a serrated blade the same way you sharpen a regular blade will ruin it.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

Thanks!! That makes perfect sense

 

[Becca_in_MD]

Our knives with cases used to be Knife with Sharpening Case (still have my old ones). It was recommended to sharpen them every 4th use or when noticing that they're dull. Those knives had a lifetime warranty. They disappeared and a while later the current knives with honing case came out. You may have customers who have the old ones so don't think that some consultant misrepresented them. The sharpening cases were white so that's a way to tell the difference between the old and the new. Excellent explanation of honing v. sharpening on here, which you can try to pass on to your customers. They're still going to think they're sharpening their knives

 

[Tropicalburstqt2]

I believe the ones with the sharpening case are in the outlet too.

 

[sherri lynn]

Thanks for explaining the difference, I really had no idea what the difference was!